


Melting Away

by Agwen



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Case Fic, Chaptered, Established Relationship, F/M, Future Fic, Married Couple, Mystery, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-19
Updated: 2012-11-01
Packaged: 2017-12-30 15:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1020159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agwen/pseuds/Agwen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story collection of ten years later and beyond.</p><p>DISCONTINUED.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coffin

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry to say that I abandoned this fic due to the following reasons:
> 
> \- My background story got jossed due to [newly translated material: the short stories by Ono Fuyumi](https://ghosthunthq.tumblr.com/GhostHunt). As a result it became hard for me to enthuse myself for this fic.  
> \- I did not plan much.  
> \- I started a new long-running fic [The Crows of Shibuya](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8509753). It will contain some plot elements which I had planned to use in this fic.

 “ _He used to think it was a coffin instead of a mirror.”_

 

**Friday, 19th of September, 2008**

 

"Pick."

 

Steaming cups of water on a plate on the coffee table in front of us. A collection of colourful pots in a box next to the plate. An assorted variety of tea leaves: from black tea, green tea to tisanes. I pointed at the pot with brown reddish tea leaves and yellow chunks. She proceeded to fill the small tea bags. For herself she had chosen hibiscus, its dried flowers were of burgundy red colour.

 

"Well then, to our little home on top of the new office and to your birthday!"

 

She held out her cup of hibiscus tea that was met with my cup of tea. We were sitting on the sofa in the living room, and were able to look out on the skyline of Tokyo through the tall windows. Her fingers latched onto my hand as she blew off the steam and inhaled the scent wafting out the cup. She sighed happily. I didn't bother and just sipped at it a little. My eyes widened a little at the unconventional taste.

 

"How is the rooibos chocolate caramel blend?" she asked, watching me curiously. "I didn't think you would pick that one."

 

I never thought such a combination could exist.

 

"Sweet," I replied.

 

"So you don't like it?"

 

"It's not bad."

 

"Okay."

 

It looked really hot outside. I had forgotten how hot Tokyo was in September compared to Europe. I used to spend my birthdays in rainy weather and drink Darjeeling tea. Alone. Now she was with me, but her mind was on something else as she started flattening the hair that was sticking out at the back of my head. She was always very fixated on my person with those stares. I didn't mind most of the time, but sometimes she seemed like an animal preying on bait.

 

"You should really do something about your hair," she said, letting go of my hand, "Does it always look that messy in the morning?"

 

"I'm prone to having bed hair, but these days I think most of this can be attributed to you," I replied hazily.

 

She nearly choked on her tea.

 

"You're welcome," she said after recovering herself and coughed, "Also, no offence, but you really do look like a bum now."

 

I frowned at her and set the tea cup on the table. Too hot for tea. I got up and made my way to the tall mirror in the bathroom. I was met by my impassive face and wild hair. I had to suppress my inner amazement at my wild exterior. She followed me into the bathroom soon after and found me staring deeply into the mirror. I was poking at the stubbles along my chin and desperately wanted to shave it off.

 

"Does it bother you?" she asked.

 

"Yeah, it gets itchy after a while."

 

She rearranged a displaced towel in front of the shower.

 

"I mean.... Looking in the mirror."

 

I stared at her. Oh _that_. She hadn't looked at me when she said that.

 

"No. Not any more," I answered and turned my head away.

 

"... I thought you would be today."

 

Without saying anything I took the razor from bathroom closet, went to the mirror in front of the sink and proceeded to shave.

 

"I used to think I was staring at a coffin."

 

She remained silent and I could see from the mirror that her eyes were watery.

 

"Right now, it doesn't look like a coffin," I continued, looking at the much taller figure in front of me. Stubbly chin, wide shoulders and messy hair. My eyes looked worn and less sharp with my bangs covering my brows. When I looked down the white t-shirt and worn navy jeans seemed to have grown on me like a second skin.

 

"This is me and that's all there is. He will never become my current image."

 

She turned her eyes on me and spoke with certain clarity in her voice.

 

"But do you ever smile in front of the mirror?"

 

I stopped and looked down at the sink.

 

"No."

 

She left the bathroom when I said nothing else. I was happy she did. If she asked me to smile in front of a mirror, I'd have refused. I just couldn't do it.

 

Several minutes later I returned to the living room to drink the cooled off tea. Much better.

 

"Are you going outside?"

 

"No, it's too hot."

 

"The office then?"

 

"I'll be there, but it's closed for visitors."

 

I wasn't expecting any to come. We had restarted the business on the first of September and I highly doubted something worthwhile would come along on a hot day like this.

 

After a long pause I said, "Mai, what do you want to eat for dinner?"

 

Her face brightened immediately.

 

"So are we going out?"

 

"Delivery service."

 

"Can I invite John and the others to eat with us?"

 

I nodded.

 

"Awesome!"

 

I drank my tea, while she excitedly started texting to her friends about the dinner.

 

"You never change..." I said softly.

 

"People are bound to change, but not everything about them will. That even goes for stick-in-the-muds. How many years has it been since we met?"

 

I groaned, but I had to admit it was true.

 

"Over ten years."

 

"It makes me feel old," Mai said.

 

"We're only 26 years old."

 

"27 in your case."

 

I rolled my eyes.

 

"Oh! Bou-san texted back already!" Mai said, and frowned when she read it, "This is what he said; 'Coming. So how's wedded life with Naru? Uhuh uhuh uhuh.'"

 

I couldn't help cringing at the obnoxious message.

 

"Tell him that we've been over that phase ages ago."

 

"It's been two weeks Naru."

 

"I meant that it's about time he stopped treating us like teenagers."

 

"Well... agreed," Mai said and she texted the monk back, "...With a snarky good morning from Naru. There, sent it."

 

We drank another cup of tea and stared out at the Tokyo skyline. Somehow we never got tired of it. This was very different from where the former office used to be.

 

"I do feel a little old. I'm 26 and already married."

 

"Isn't that about a little below the average age to get married these days?" I said.

 

"The average is much higher in Japan," Mai said, and she gave me an explanation without even having to ask for it, "Women with a high education level prefer to have a career, as opposed to becoming a housewife with children. There are a lot of single women these days. Ever heard of parasite singles? I can't blame them for not getting married. Having a career after children is not easy. Delaying marriage and staying with the parents has its advantages, but it's causing more problems in the long run. Such as the declining population."

 

I simply listened without interrupting.

 

"I'm married to my career, so I don't count," she added.

 

I shrugged.

 

"As a Japanese citizen I do think we should do something about the birthrate," she said with a serious facial expression. "We have to save our country from population decline."

 

I averted my eyes from her. No no no _no_. 

 

"Anyway, you're not a Japanese national so I won't force you into it." 

 

"One day, but not right now," I hastily said. For the first time in my life I was happy to be a British citizen.

 

"It would make for a nice birthday present if you time it right," she said.

 

When I looked back she smiled prettily. It didn't show on my face, but the moment took my breath away. Her birthday is in early July. A quick calculation made my heart sink as low as it could.

 

"I thought you said 26 was too young to get married," I replied.

 

"I didn't. In our case it's not. It's been over 10 years," Mai said, "But I didn't think you would propose at the age of 21. Well, if I could call it a proposal."

 

That had happened five years ago, when I was about to leave to pursue my doctorate in Cambridge. The contract for the old office happened to run out, so there was no choice but to leave Japan.

 

"There was a ring," I noted.

 

Mai glared.

 

"Yeah, there was. You shoved that one up the wrong finger. It could have been anything you know? I was never more confused in my life."

 

That hurt a little to hear that, but then I remembered the silly doll that was made in my image quite well.

 

"Well, the birthday present you gave me several months earlier was rather lacking in taste and for good measure, I proposed again."

 

Mai gave a little smirk.

 

"So you do admit you went wrong on the first time?"

 

"The wait for your answer left me in agony, so I became like that."

 

She coughed.

 

"The second time was an awful job application process that was forced upon me, but I have forgiven you."

 

"Good."

 

That was all I could say about the fiasco that had spanned for ten long years. I stretched my back, slid my feet back into the slippers and headed to the office downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday I realized it was Naru's birthday today, but I didn't want to rehash the usual theme of loss. It turned out to be very mundane, but I just wanted to write them as young adults instead of a pair of awkward teenagers. The next story will have more plot: their first case as a married couple.
> 
> I made a couple of references to other one shots. They're a bit older, but if you want to you can read those too.
> 
> Naru's birthday doll appears in “Unmoving”.
> 
> The office contract expires in “Irreplaceable”.
> 
> 'Melting Away' is the sequel to “We walk alone” that includes the engagement fiasco.


	2. Blue Lights (1)

**Monday, 6th of October, 2008**

 

"This is not my kind of honeymoon."

 

Mai drove up a muddy road with her black car. The fading sunlight barely penetrated the ominous clouds. I was sitting in the seat next to her and hardly paid any attention to my surroundings. According to her I had 'swamped' ourselves in the various paperwork that lingered all over the car's interior. Mild irritation arose when she said those words.

 

"Stop complaining, you should be glad to be married to an intelligent and handsome man who provides for your living," I said with a deadpan voice.

 

"Yes yes," Mai said, and all of sudden sped up her driving after turning a corner, "Speaking of men, I am currently wondering whether it was a smart thing to marry you. There will always be work. You roped me into a part time job, went away, came back, left again for god knows how many years... and then you landed me into job that is basically until death do us part. Sooo Naru, when is the honeymoon?"

 

I was surprised she managed to say all of that without stopping to breathe, but I ignored her because I was reading an old newspaper article which was honestly more interesting than making a futile conversation in the state she was in. Her mind tends to wander when she's bored. This was the first time that we had gotten out of Tokyo ever since our wedding that had occurred about a month ago. To her dismay there was still no honeymoon in sight even though we had all the money and the time. By now she seems to have decided on giving up on her view of an ideal marriage as far as it could be possible. She consider me to be a ball and chain instead. A spiky ball and chain, she emphasized.

 

As if it was my fault for her decision to marry me.

 

She drove up a hill. According to the navigation system the house should be around this area, she said under her breath. 

 

I never liked driving, so Mai became my chauffeur (ball and chain, ball and chain, she yelled unimpressed at my decision). Naturally I wanted to devote my time to more productive activities such as researching the case and possibly coming to a conclusion before we even arrived. As of now, I intended to research some possibilities on the site itself.

 

"Naru, how long do you think this is going to take?"

 

"Two days at most."

 

I started to file the papers and articles back into a folder.

 

"Not long huh? Any plans for after the case?"

 

There we go again. I sat straight up and looked at her profile. Her eyes looked at me briefly, before she gaze at the road again. One minute left on the navigation system.

 

"Mai, if you were smart you would be focusing on the case and not on a honeymoon," I said and her eyes rolled back in irritation.

 

She stopped the car near a barren plot of land and a rather old looking house. This rural area looked desolate at best with the few houses in the surroundings.

 

The monologue started.

 

"Naru," my dear wife said with a stern face, "If it goes on like this we'll end up like a granny and a granddad who hunt ghosts at night time, using our walking sticks to make the ghosts cross over... and complain about our aching backs during day time. Our children will be contemplating whether or not they'll be passing on the arts of ghost hunting onto the next generation, because remembering their own experience, our grandchildren will be told off by their friends for being joy killers during a dare in an abandoned mansion after acting like know-it-alls due to the adventures of the earlier generations."

 

I stared at her as if she were the dumbest person in the world. She really isn't, but I just wanted to get my point across. She leaned back against the seat.

 

"You didn't get the joke, do you?" She said with a huff.

 

It was a joke? Of course it was.

 

"You're not precognitive Mai, if you don't shut up about those silly things, I'm going to divorce you," I retorted without even looking at her, as I reached for my long black coat to wear it outside and opened the door.

 

"Ha! You'd never," she said with a laugh.

 

I stepped out of the car.

 

"Let's have a look at client's uncle and aunt," I announced.

 

Once we stood in front of the home, I realized this was the first case in a long time, not counting those before Shibuya Psychic Research re-opened. The case at her high school happened over ten years ago. There was a certain kind of nostalgia when thinking about those times.

 

The house didn't just look old, it was old. I could bang my head against the door frame if I wasn't careful and there was no doorbell.

 

"Old fashioned people live here," I muttered under my breath.

 

"I'm going to knock," Mai said, ignoring my comment.

 

"There's no need to. The door is unlocked," I said softly, and added, "Typical village mentality."

 

She gave me a hard stare.

 

"Shut it Naru. We're not barging in without knocking."

 

I shrugged.

 

"Then, go on. Knock."

 

She knocked. About half a minute passed and there was still no answer except from some laughter and television noises on the background.

 

"They should have heard us, right?" she said, unsure of her case.

 

"An old couple in their eighties. Do you really think so?" 

 

I crossed my arms. I was definitely not going to do the knocking myself. Obviously getting the hint from my stance, Mai glared at me.

 

"Fine."

 

She heaved a sigh.

 

"Good evening, Mizuguchi-san!" She yelled while knocking on the door multiple times. "Shibuya-san is here!"

 

I winced at her loud voice. She could have warned me.

 

Moments later an old lady opened the door. Her grey hair was in a knot, and she smelled of okonomiyaki. She was shorter than Mai, so she looked up at both of us.

 

"Hello? Who are you?"

 

They weren't expecting us?

 

"I am Shibuya Mai and this is my husband Kazuya. Pleased to meet you, Mizuguchi-san," Mai said with a big smile. "It was your niece Mariya-san who came to Shibuya Psychic Research and asked for help."

 

We had agreed that she would carry the formalities of dealing with clients and carrying out conversations. I didn't want to waste my time on idle talk, and Mai didn't mind talking. Obviously.

 

"Ah, Shibuya-san! Yes, please come in. My husband is in the living room. We can talk there."

 

The woman gestured us inside and walked with a slightly bent back. I closed the door behind me and noticed some unused locks fastened near the door. Curious. The planks made no noise when she walked, but it creaked when we stepped on it.

 

"You people are so young," the old woman said as we walked to the living room together. I had wanted to mutter something critical about the woman's age in comparison to ours, but I was prevented from doing so.

 

"Ah yes, they say that all the time, hehe," Mai pulled that one out of the old closet. We both probably wondered when people would ever stop saying such things about us.

 

The living room was a cosy, Japanese-style room with tatami mats. Mizuguchi was laughing at the low table watching a game show on the television. He was bald, had one drooping eye and a fit looking body for his age. Near him was a walking stick resting upright against a wall.

 

"Dear, our guests have come," his wife said, "Shibuya Mai and her husband Kazuya. Mariya sent them."

 

That made me sound like some kind of extra. I did not like it, but Mai seemed to enjoy it plenty from the way she grinned. The man beckoned us to sit at the table as soon as he noticed us.

 

"I see. So you're here for the funny noises," the man said. "Come sit down."

 

We joined him at the table and the television was turned off.

 

"Would you like to drink something?" his wife asked.

 

"Tea will do," I replied.

 

"Yes, tea please," Mai said, “Thank you very much.”

 

I quickly ran over the information that their niece had relayed to us in my mind. This was her aunt Mizuguchi Sayaka and her uncle Mizuguchi Hirotaka. Both were 85 years old. They have lived in the village their entire life and built this house over 56 years ago. According to Kamiyama Mariya, they had two daughters, but no known grandchildren. One of the children passed away at an early age and the other did not keep contact with them.

 

"I received a phone call that a certain Shibuya would come, but who is Mariya?" The man said. I looked closely at his drooping eye and found a scar that extended to his temple.

 

"Mariya-san. Your niece? Although she didn't say from which side of the family...?" Mai tried to clear up the situation.

 

"Our family is big. I'm sure we've forgotten about one or another."

 

I knew what Mai was thinking when I saw the expression on her face. Even if a family was big... they wouldn't confuse one for another, she probably thought. Well, wait until I am forced to introduce Martin and Luella's relatives. Don't even get me started on my cousins' children.

 

Mai said, "She said she visited here recently."

 

He frowned at her. 

 

"Wasn't that Makiko-chan and her husband?" His wife called from the kitchen.

 

"Oh yeah, Makiko-chan and that snail! They called us."

 

Mai slightly winced at the name-calling.

 

I interrupted. "Whoever it was, we're hear to investigate whatever is troubling you. I need to confirm what we were told about your problems."

 

"Problems. Do we have problems? We don't hear those noises in our own room," the man said loudly.

 

"Yes, we do have. Hiro-san. The vases keep falling," his wife said, returning with two cups of tea.

 

"Oh, the vase, indeed!"

 

As Kamiyama had said, every Tuesday morning a vase would fall off the small table in the living room. He pointed at the vase on a table in the corner. It was in front the family altar which had a very old portrait of a young girl.

 

"Anything else?" Mai asked.

 

"Well, only that and the noises in the spare bedroom on the same night. People who sleep over hear it."

 

"What happens first? The falling vase or the noises?" I queried.

 

"I'm pretty sure the vase falls first," Sayaka said.

 

"No, it's the noises! My hearing is better than yours!"

 

I sighed inwardly. Well, they certainly didn't hear us knocking on the door just a while ago.

 

"Is it correct that it started about 10 years ago?" Mai interceded.

 

"Yes, it was around that time, but I'm not sure.."

 

They both seemed to agree on that.

 

"Was the spare room formerly used by someone?"

 

"That was our bedroom... But it was so far from the kitchen and the living room that we started using the bedroom that belonged to our daughters."

 

"When was that?"

 

"About twenty years ago.."

 

"I'm sorry, but can you tell me something about your daughters?" she asked.

 

"Our first child Yumiko was born 55 years ago and died when she was ten," Hirotaka answered.

 

"What was the cause of death?"

 

"A lung disease."

 

"What about the second child?"

 

"Well, Emiko left our house 27 years ago. She married some man in the city. We have not seen her ever since," the woman said.

 

"You didn't part on good terms I presume?" I said.

 

"We had a disagreement about her choice of partner, and in the end we disinherited her. She was mad of course, but we really disliked the guy. He was no good," Hirotaka said that while staring at me specifically.

 

Next to me Mai shuffled uneasily.

 

"....I see," I frowned a little before looking at the vase on the table. "Tonight the phenomena should occur again. I'd like to take a look at the spare bedroom."

 

"Of course... but are you going to sleep in there too?" Sayaka asked.

 

I looked at Mai if she was ready for it and she gave me a nod of approval.

 

"It should be fine. We'll sleep there," she returned her gaze to the woman with a smile.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

After Hirotaka handed us a blueprint of the house, saving me from having to draw out our own map, we were shown around the house and were lead to the room that was in the right wing. It was situated next to a toilet, which we were told not to use. I noticed the creaking of the floors was even worse in this part of the house. Not only the floor was making sounds as we stepped on it, the walls seemed eager to join in the cacophony. Even the light Sayaka made audible sounds as she walked through this part of the house.

 

The room itself was wide and offered plenty of space, and was much bigger than the elderly couple's current room. They left us alone after Mai had explained what we were about to do. That is, taking the equipment out of the car and check the temperatures of the rooms. I wondered if it was such a good idea to use the spare bedroom as a base. The living room was off limits due to the falling vase and other rooms could not be used to sleep in. Mai seemed to be reassured of herself that nothing dangerous would happen to us. After all, they were just sounds.

 

I took the equipment out of the car and told Mai to go over to the house of the neighbours to check whether they had noticed something unusual about the Mizuguchi house. I installed a camera in front of the small table in the living room and marked the area around the vase with a circle. I noticed a carpet covering the floor beneath the table and asked Hirotaka if I could remove it to see what's beneath it, but he said it was attached to the floor. I could confirm the presence of nails that were tightly pounded into the wood. Hirotaka asked me why we wanted to check the room temperatures. After answering his question I returned to the base.

 

"Mai, what did the neighbours say? 

 

Mai hummed as she recalled her foundings.

 

"The neighbour in the front didn't notice anything unusual, but the neighbours across the back garden did say something peculiar."

 

"What did they tell you?"

 

"Well, about ten years ago... during autumn. They had seen blue fire balls near the house. It stopped after a moment though."

 

"Where exactly?"

 

"Near the toilet on this side. The neighbours thought the blue lights were Will O' the wisps."

 

"Blue lights..." I said, contemplating for a moment, "Did you check the room temperatures already?"

 

"Yes," she nodded and handed me a sheet with the measurements.

 

"Rather low temperatures in the living room in comparison to the other spaces," I noted, "Same goes for this room and the toilet."

 

"Isn't this entire wing colder than the other?" Mai suggested.

 

"You don't have the hall measurements on here."

 

She groaned and got off her feet. "Oh I'll get it."

 

"No, I'll go. Set up the video feed instead."

 

I exited the room and went to the very other end of the house in the other wing. The hall was completely straight and rather narrow. At the centre was the entranceway that led directly to the living room. I passed the entranceway and living room until I reached the storage room, then I went back measuring the temperatures in the hallway accordingly. At the same time I did some random height and width measurements.

 

Storage room. A small hallway that led to the other shed at the back of the house. A modern bathroom and toilet. The couple's bedroom that used to belong to their daughters. Living room with the falling vase. The kitchen that was attached to a dining room. Another hallway to the garden. A less modern-looking bathroom. The spare bedroom. Yes, Mai was right. The temperatures subtly dropped as soon as I had passed the living room. It was remarkable, because one would think that the temperature shift would occur near the entranceway to the garden. It hadn't.

 

The old-fashioned toilet at the end of the hall looked like it hadn't been renovated for a long time. I looked inside for a moment. A squat toilet. I checked with the map I had with me and confirmed that it was an old style pit toilet. Outside the blue lights had been observed about a decade ago.

 

I closed the door and returned to the spare bedroom. Mai was sitting in front of the video feed.

 

"This wing is indeed colder than the other one. The width and height are somewhat off as well," I said as I went to stand next to her.

 

She didn't seem to notice my presence.

 

"Mai?" I touched her shoulder with my hand. She jumped at the sudden touch.

 

"Uh, yeah? What's up?"

 

"I said it's colder in this wing," I repeated, mildly irritated at her spacing out.

 

"Really?"

 

"What's wrong Mai? You're out of it."

 

"I'm a little tired... that's all."

 

I stared at her for a moment, before my attention went to the video feed. It was almost midnight and the temperature seemed to be slightly dropping in the living room in the absence of people.

 

"Have they gone to sleep already?" Mai asked.

 

"Yes."

 

"I am so confused," she said.

 

"About what?"

 

"Them. They don't seem so desperate," Mai continued, "and I didn't like the way he was staring at you."

 

I understood what she meant. Some things didn't match up about this family and I was having my doubts as well. Not so much about the case, because what we had been told indicated a possible paranormal activity. Though I could be mistaken, perhaps this confusion was all about the case. I checked the file in my notebook, pulled out my cell phone and dialled a number.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"Calling Kamiyama Mariya."

 

A young woman of around our age had herself introduced as Kamiyama Mariya, the niece of the Mizuguchi couple. She had come to our office after she had a paranormal experience in their house. At the request of the elderly couple she visited our office in their stead. There was a clear desperation in her voice that convinced both of us that there was a serious problem. She had shown us a wound at her neck that she had received during her stay at the Mizuguchi's.

 

"Why?"

 

"What do you think? Making sure something's not off."

 

A few moments passed.

 

"Not picking up?"

 

I nodded, dialled another number from my contact list and gave the phone to Mai. She frowned at me when I did that.

 

"Hello?" she said to the person, "I'm sorry, it's a bit late, but can you confirm Kamiyama Mariya's contact information for me? Yeah, we've arrived. She should be from..."

 

I showed her the file with her contact information.

 

"Sagamihara."

 

"Her name could be Makiko as well. Also try to find something about Mizuguchi Emiko. Make sure that we have the information by noon tomorrow," I added. 

 

She repeated it for me on the phone.

 

"Why did you give the phone to me?" Mai asked after she ended the phone call.

 

"You know why."

 

"Well, you shouldn't have hired him in the first place if you don't get along with each other."

 

"...he's cheap labour."

 

She stopped to stare at me.

 

"Gah, why does that description remind me of us?" Mai groaned and stalked off to the bathroom. I closed the notebook and started to watch the video feed. Nothing happened. After a while Mai returned in her pyjamas.

 

I said to her, "I'll stay up first. You'll keep watch starting from three in the morning."

 

"Okay," Mai said. "Speaking of which... are you still avoiding the topic on the succession? Is that why you didn't talk to him?"

 

I shrugged in response and left to the bathroom.

 

When I returned I turned off the lights of the room. There was a humming sound from the video feed, but otherwise it was very quiet. Mai was in the futon. On normal days I had tried to make it a habit to go to sleep at a similar time as she did, but all too often I would stay up late to do some work or reading. I sat down next to her as I watched the video feed. No changes.

 

Suddenly I felt arms around my waist. She inhaled the scent of my hair. Not again. I grabbed her hands and shoved them away.

 

"I know you can't resist me, but keep your hands home this time," I said, "I have a job to do."

 

"Then why did you let us in one room?" she asked with a whiny voice. I didn't recall that was the reason whether we were sleeping in this room.

 

"So I can keep an eye on you. I remember saying that we'd abstain during cases."

 

"Yeah, you said that...." Mai sighed, and pulled away from me, "Am I the only one who finds this difficult?"

 

"Just go to sleep and make sure to collect valuable information," I calmly avoided the subject. "That is, if you're still capable of it."

 

Mai groaned and made it a point to sleep with her back facing me.

 

"Fine. Good night."

 

I wasn't very sleepy, was itching to read something and pulled out a book with a reading light from my bag. I watched the video feed occasionally and saw the temperature dropping very slowly. When it was half past one in the morning I had finally gotten tired and there were no odd reactions from Mai who was sleeping soundly. I looked up from my book and stared at the video feed.

 

The temperature had dropped dramatically in the living room. Within a few seconds it had steeped below the freezing temperature. The spare bedroom's temperature was not noticeably low yet. I turned off the reading light.

 

Mai slightly stirred in her sleep, but I kept my eye on the video. At 1:35 the vase shifted from its position, moving slowly to the upper border of the marking had I made. I could not make out the details from the video, but the angle of the table looked a little off. The vase abruptly fell against the family altar and dropped off the table. It hadn't broken, but the few flowers and water covered the little carpet on the floor.

 

Nothing else happened in the feed.

 

"No...."

 

Next to me Mai's voice called out softly. She was shivering.

 

"-ident..."

 

I listened carefully.

 

"...was an accident, don't..." her voice became louder.

 

 _Creak._ The sound channel of the video caught my attention.

 

_Creaaak._

 

The creaking became much softer within a few seconds and the microphone stopped catching any other sounds.

 

I was alerted by Mai who started shaking violently all of sudden. I grabbed her shoulders.

 

"Wake up, Mai!" I gave her a good shake and somehow managed to pull her out of her dream or whatever it was.

 

Her eyes were wide and she was still trembling.

 

"I..."

 

"What happened? Did you see anything?" I asked her and noticed she was very cold.

 

She looked as if she was to burst into tears.

 

"Believe me," she said, with a high pitched voice, "It's not her fault."

 

Her body collapsed against mine.

 

"Mai?"

 

_Creak._

 

"What's that noise?" she suddenly said with a normal voice, looking up at me and then glancing in the direction of the hallway. I hadn't noticed the creaking getting closer to us.

 

_Creak. Creaaaak._

 

The noises became louder. The wooden planks in the hallway groaned under the pressure of someone coming. Something was coming to where we were. Gasping in panic she gripped my shirt with her hands and I held my breath when the noises stopped right next to the sliding door. Only the sound of our breathing could be heard. She shivered against me and I held her waist with my right arm.

 

_Creak._

 

Though we did not see anything, someone stood right in front of door, which slid open by one centimetre. Still, nobody could be seen behind the small opening. It slid open even more, creaking along the way, using force to overcome rugged wood. Dripping sounds.

 

_Mother._

 

_Mother, are you in here?_

 

_Can you help me?_

 

A woman's voice sounded behind the door now half open. There was no one to be seen.

 

"Who is it?" Mai called out.

 

Groaning sounds seemed to have enveloped our ears. At the same time the house seemed to rumble under the pressure that originated in the hallway.

 

 _You're not mother. Who are YOU?_ The woman cried out.

 

The door slid open with a bang and the sounds of dripping became louder. Then the sound of footsteps creaking in the bedroom, nearing us, and I could see dark liquid appearing on the floor.

 

_Slash._

 

A sudden pain could be felt on my neck. I reached for the spot with my fingers.

 

Blood.

 

At that moment Mai rose on her feet and recited a mantra.

 

"Naumaku Sanmanda bazaradan kan!"

 

It was as if the cold had dissipated at once and whatever had entered the bedroom, seemed to have gone away, for now. The pressure had been taken off the house, currently silent, and the only audible sound was the familiar humming of the video feed. Mai stared at the still open door, but I looked at the floor. The dark spots had vanished.


	3. Blue Lights (2)

**Tuesday, 7th of October, 2008**

 

Mai closed the portable medical case and stored it back into her suitcase. After the ghost left she had treated the small wound on my neck and bandaged it. She wouldn't hear of letting the wound bleed and have it stain the futon unnecessarily, so I submitted to her will as I pondered over the most recent happening. There were only a few holes in the hypothesis that kept me from fully understanding the situation.

 

"Does it still hurt?" she asked.

 

"No, it wasn't very deep."

 

She knelt down on the floor and folded her legs under her thighs. The _seiza_ stance is a proper Japanese way of sitting, but Mai also considered the position as a way to discipline her mind, and while doing so, build her concentration. Mai was sitting between me and the door opening from where some of the moonlight streamed in. Her front side was shrouded in shadows, and after she turned her head to look to the back, I couldn't help staring at the way her short hair accentuated the shape of her profile.

 

"They haven't woken up, have they?” she quietly asked.

 

I moved my gaze past Mai, and fixed it beyond the door opening. The hallway was silent just like it had been before, and it looked as if nothing had occurred in the past ten minutes.

 

"I'm not surprised. They're practically deaf," I said.

 

She hung her head low.

 

"What was with the ghost in the hallway? She was calling out for her mother. Could the mother be Sayaka-san?" 

 

“I'd say the chance is big. There was no other house built on this property before.”

 

“The ghost was... Emiko-san,” she said, looking straight at me, “It has to be.”

 

I narrowed my eyebrows and said, "I'll take that into account, but what happened to you before you woke up?"

 

"...I had a dream."

 

I figured that was the case, so I took my notepad and began to write down the details she remembered.

 

"I was the oldest daughter, Yumiko, and I dreamt she was with her younger sister Emiko. Yumiko's condition was very bad... sometimes she couldn't breathe properly, but her parents took great care of her. They told her she was beautiful and smart, but... if only that sickness hadn't gotten to her..." Mai said with her head slightly tilted down, "Her sister was healthy, but her personality wasn't great, and she was average in anything else... For these reasons her parents favoured Yumiko. They had always hope for a recovery, but..."

 

She stopped and I looked up from my notepad.

 

"What happened then?"

 

Mai sighed as if not wanting to continue.

 

"Emiko had tried her best. One day she had gotten a good grade at school, but they ignored her in front of Yumiko. She felt guilty and told Emiko she wanted to get better quickly, so that their parents would treat them equally. Then I saw how Emiko secretly gave her something to drink, telling her it would help, but then..."

 

"A medicine?"

 

"I don't know, that's when Yumiko died."

 

"So Emiko killed her sister."

 

Mai shook her head violently.

 

"Naru, she was only eight. It was an accident," she insisted.

 

I sighed. 

 

"I didn't say it was a murder."

 

She groaned. 

 

It seemed that without the supervision of her parents or a doctor, Yumiko had choked on some drink or had some of it enter her lungs. Either could have been fatal to the young girl, but I knew it wasn't that significant. What was of most importance is what happened after Yumiko's death.

 

Mai asked, "What happened on your side then?”

 

"Let's go to the living room," I said, standing up, "and see for yourself."

 

I offered Mai a hand, which she took. She wobbled a little when I pulled her up on her feet, then we entered the ever creaking hallway. Through the moonlit passage I led her to the living room, while still holding hands. Once there, I showed her the fallen vase by the family altar.

 

"There was a temperature drop in the room, and the vase fell a few moments before you woke up," I told her.

 

“So the ghost travelled from here to the spare bedroom.”

 

“Yes, she's travelled it so many times that the right wing is starting to show signs of effects of thermal expanding and shrinking.”

 

I took out a torch and pointed its light at the carpet below the table. "I see now."

 

"What do you see?"

 

"The nails have been loosened from the floor."

 

“Huh?”

 

"Hirotaka-san has nailed the carpet to the wooden plank," I said, looking at her.

 

"That's weird...why would he?" Mai stared at me quizzically.

 

"That's what old people do," I said.

 

"Naru, that's not informative."

 

"Not now Mai. Think about it yourself or ask me later if you can't even manage that."

 

"Yes, boss," she replied sarcastically.

 

I had a good reason for not explaining it to her right away, and I was right in my decision. The two of us heard some footsteps in the hallway. Hirotaka appeared in the entrance.

 

"Did it fall down again?"

 

I pointed out the obvious with my torch.

 

"Hirotaka-san, have you considered moving the table to a different place?" I suggested.

 

He made a strained noise.

 

"I can't do that."

 

Mai frowned suspiciously. I had expected that answer, so I turned off the light and moved past the old man into the hallway.

 

"Very well then," I said, and looked at him, "Now, if you'll excuse us..."

 

We left Hirotaka in the living room. I returned to the bedroom with Mai following after me.

 

"What's with that old man?" she asked when I laid down on the futon. "Why didn't he take up your suggestion?"

 

"Check the video footage and you'll understand," I said.

 

Mai sat down in front of the monitor and replayed the footage. My eyes lingered on the nape of her neck.

 

"I think I get it. Why would he answer like that though?"

 

I looked away from her, closed my eyes and prepared myself for sleep.

 

"He wanted to divert our attention to the vase, but I had discovered those nails," I replied, "So I suppose he has something to hide."

 

"I'm getting really bad vibes from him. What is he hiding?" Mai asked, "and how is this related to my dream?."

 

"Ask those questions after we wake up."

 

She huffed angrily.

 

"Stop being so mysterious and tell it to me. Now."

 

"No."

 

"I'm curious!" she said in my ears and felt her warm breath on my face. 

 

My patience had snapped. I opened my eyes and grabbed her by the shoulders. I pushed Mai onto the other side of the futon and hovered over her with one of my hands still on her shoulder. Her eyes were wide and her face had turned into a darker shade out of fury. Clearly she hadn't expected these actions.

 

"What are you doing?" Mai demanded angrily.

 

I chuckled quietly and lowered my mouth next to her head.

 

"What should I do to make you sleep?"

 

Mai muttered something incomprehensible.

 

"Well?"

 

She hissed, "That's not funny, Naru... you said we wouldn't until the case is over!"

 

"The case is closed, Mai. After we wake up, we'll pack up and leave right away. There's nothing to be done here."

 

She was confused at my decision, but realized the implications.

 

"That sort of thing won't work on me," she said, finally looking away from me. "It's not over yet."

 

"Then go to sleep," I said and laid down beside her, with my back to her. Satisfied with that, I could finally have my night rest.

 

"You're never like this at home..." she mumbled.

 

"That's because you're always ahead of me," I responded with growing irritation.

 

It was obvious she struggled to pick a good comeback, because after a while she apologised half-heartedly.

 

"I'm sorry for being too assertive."

 

"As long as you don't jump me while on a case, I have nothing to complain about."

 

“Naru! Don't talk about me like I'm an animal!”

 

"I'm not going into that..."

 

"Really... I don't understand you..."

 

"Mai, we're going around in circles. We've discussed this before."

 

She sighed, "But it's like, every time we talk there's some kind of barrier that prevents us from completely understanding each other." 

 

I turned around and pulled her closer to me. Her body shivered slightly against mine and I could tell that she was calming down. Mai hugged me back. I started stroking her back with my free arm. Once we touched, I remembered I wasn't just me anymore.

 

We're not lacking in anything. We're just right.

 

* * *

 

 

By eight in the morning I was fully dressed and ready to pack our belongings, so I drew the curtain open and let the light of the morning sun stream in. With that I had roused the person in the futon from her sleep. She hid her head beneath the blanket to combat the sudden light.

 

"No, turn off the lights," she whined.

 

Then a loud ring tone came from the cell phone in my pocket. When I took it out and stared at the display I saw that the call came from the office number. Surely it was him.

 

"Shut it off," Mai groaned.

 

I pressed the green button on the screen and held the cell phone next to my ear.

 

"Hello?" I said and listened to what the other person had to say.

 

After I had finished the phone call, Mai asked groggily, "What did he say?" 

 

"The niece Makiko knows nothing about the SPR and is not familiar with a cousin called Mariya. Also, there is no Kamiyama Mariya in Sagamihara."

 

Mai sat up with the blanket covering her bare shoulders. Her mouth was wide open.

 

"No way... She looked so desperate..."

 

I gave her a look of disapproval.

 

"Yes way, she's a fraud. Go pack the bags. We can't do anything for these old people. They never asked for our help in the first place."

 

"What... what were you just saying?!" She said, staring after me with wide eyes. Mai appeared to be wide awake, so I proceeded to walk over and grab her blanket.

 

"Go pack the bags," I repeated again and attempted to pull the blanket away.

 

"Stop doing that! I'm cold!" she yelled, and insisted on keeping it on her.

 

"You're supposed to get up now."

 

“Just give me more time,” she glared, "And, why is the door open? What if they walk past and see me like this!"

 

"I did it to air the room. Would you prefer to have the windows open?” I said, and added, “and it's not my fault that you're half-naked."

 

She growled, "Clearly it is your fault!"

 

A smirk appeared on my face.

 

"Who was the one who said the case is far from over? Clearly you have a lack of resolve," I responded and was satisfied with the sight of Mai's face instantly reddening.

 

"Ugh! Fine. Look I am awake! You can have the blanket for yourself!" She said, threw the blanket over my head and groaned all the way to the bathroom with a towel and a set of clothes. 

 

At my own pace I turned off the video set-up packed the equipment in the room. It was quite early in the morning, so I didn't expect the elderly couple to be awake by the time we had packed. When Mai returned I offered her some biscuits that she had packed for the journey.

 

"Thanks," she said with a much calmer demeanour, to my relief.

 

"I will pack the video camera in the living room and take all of the equipment to the car. Make sure you place the bags near the entranceway before I'm ready," I said as she ate quietly behind me, "We won't have breakfast with them, say that we'll leave as soon as possible."

 

"We're not doing an exorcism..?"

 

"No, we can't," I firmly said, wondering when it would come through her thick skull that the case was over, cancelled, annulled, etcetera.

 

"Why?"

 

I didn't want to answer that question and sighed. There was a fairly simple solution, but it was the least likely of all that could happen. I wasn't sure how the old couple would take it, and I deemed it more important to get out as soon as possible.

 

"Mai, please," I finally begged.

 

However, she wasn't convinced yet and waited for an explanation, so I tried again.

 

"I have a solution ready, so just do what I tell you to and there won't be any trouble."

 

Mai was obviously restraining herself from blowing up at me, but now only her eyes pronounced a heavy dislike at my decision. She wanted an answer, but probably knew that I wouldn't give in. Had it been ten years ago, it would have been a different story. Now Mai merely nodded and turned around to fold the futon away.

 

I took the box with the equipment in my hands and left the house. When I returned to the entranceway, I found Mizuguchi Sayaka standing there. The short old lady was wearing a blue apron and her grey hair was held up in a knot with a hair stick.

 

"Are you leaving already?"

 

“Yes,” I replied.

 

The woman's eyes seemed tensed for some reason.

 

"Won't you be having breakfast with us?" Sayaka said, "I will have it ready in a few minutes."

 

"I appreciate the thought, but it won't be necessary. We've overstayed your welcome," I said with a light smile on my lips.

 

"What about your wife? Will she eat with us?"

 

I declined again. I was happy that I let Mai alone in the bedroom to pack her bags. On a more or less empty stomach she would have been too easily swayed by the woman's interest to have breakfast with us. I didn't want to risk anything if even only half of my hypothesis proved to be correct.

 

The woman pursed her lips as if she were offended and I took it as my cue to leave.

 

"If you'll excuse me, I'll take apart the camera set-up in the living room," I said and walked over to the camera. When I looked back she had the entranceway, presumably to get her husband.

 

I noticed the table, the vase and the nails in the carpet had returned to its original state. Hirotaka had been very careful not to rouse any curiosity, but I was far ahead of him. Soon after I had packed the video camera in the bag, I found Hirotaka and Sayaka standing in the doorway of the living room.

 

"So you're leaving this soon?" The man inquired with a raised eyebrow that was above the little wound on his eyelid.

 

I was facing him, while holding the camera bag and the tripod in my other hand.

 

"There was no need for us to come. Seeing as you won't need our help."

 

"Well, you did say that I should consider moving the table to a different place."

 

I sighed.

 

"Yes, I did say that."

 

“But you're not even eating breakfast with us?” Hirotaka asked.

 

“As the hosts we would happily provide you breakfast before you leave,” Sayaka insisted again.

 

I was getting irritated at them and didn't feel the need to say anything. So I moved past them without saying anything else, placed the bag with the video camera and the tripod in the car and returned to the hallway. Hirotaka was sitting in the living room, staring at some noisy morning show on the television. Obviously he didn't look very pleased with my behaviour, but I could care less what he thought of me. However, Mai still hadn't placed her belongings there and I started to wonder why she was taking this long. Why was she being so slow-

 

Wait.

 

I rushed back to the bedroom with big steps.

 

Mai was sitting on the floor with her back to my side and was obviously out. Her head suddenly jerked up at the creaking wood in front of the door and she suddenly noticed me standing there.

 

"What did you do?" I said angrily and her eyes twinkled.

 

"I'm done," she replied with a smirk, "I consider the case to be over."

 

"What?"

 

"I couldn't find the other spirit, but at the very least Yumiko has passed over," Mai said proudly.

 

Astonishment washed over my being. I held a hand against my forehead. Mai had done an _jourei_ without my permission.

 

"What?" she repeated my question with a look that said I should be grateful.

 

"You're... You're such an idiot," I said and rolled my eyes.

 

Mai went to stand in front of me and firmly said, "I couldn't let her just suffer in this room!"

 

That was true, but that's not what I meant. I ran through my thoughts for a solution. This was bad. I let out a deep sigh. The damage had been done.

 

"All right," I said, "As long as you let me explain the situation to the Mizuguchi's."

 

Mai smiled at me, completely ignorant of what kind of trouble she just caused me, or rather, the elderly couple.

 

"Well then, let's go see them. I've got everything packed up," she said pointing at the bags near the doorway. She was completely elated and seemed to have no other care in the world left.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

We took our belongings to entranceway and dropped off next to the door. Hirotaka was still sitting in front of the television, and we went up to him. His expression seemed neutral when he looked at Mai, but he gnawed at the sight of my presence. 

 

I barely acknowledged that fact and just said, "I'd like to talk to you about something before we leave."

 

Hirotaka's eyes lit up at the sudden development and became friendly again.

 

"Oho, really? Come sit down."

 

We sat down by the table. Mai gave me a confused frown after she saw what had occurred between me and the old man.

 

"Sayaka!" He loudly yelled, and Mai winced, "Get them something to drink!"

 

Sayaka yelled something back, then her husband faced me once again with a smile.

 

"So you were interested in what's beneath the floor, eh?"

 

"Not especially," I replied, "I already know what's under it."

 

Mai stared at me in the hope I would at least give that part away.

 

Hirotaka didn't look surprised, "You do? Let's hear it then."

 

"Money."

 

Hirotaka clapped slowly, but Mai looked as if she had been expecting something more extravagant, and rolled her eyes.

 

"In order words, a great amount of money that you would have bequeathed to your children," I said, "But one child has passed away from an illness and the other has been disinherited."

 

Hirotaka nodded, "Exactly. What does a couple do when there are no children to give money away to?"

 

Save it.

 

"A number of things could be done, but you decided it should be nailed under the carpet," I said, "…But actually, I would like to talk about the state of your house."

 

He frowned.

 

"What about it? It's old, I know."

 

I looked him straight in the eye.

 

"Yes, it's old and unsafe."

 

He stared at us in unbelief.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

"The house won't hold any longer. My suggestion is to leave it and have it demolished as soon as possible. I suspect it might not last for another week."

 

There was a pause before any answer came.

 

"We can't," Hirotaka said, with sweat forming at his forehead. “Why would we?”

 

I frowned when Sayaka returned with two cups of tea and a plate of uncut cake and a kitchen knife. Mai was still in good spirits, and looked ready to devour the cake, but I placed my hand on her hands to prevent her from doing so. Her arms relaxed in response, and I folded my fingers together with elbows on the table.

 

"It seems you want to sweep everything under the carpet... Well, if you won't leave the house, then I will propose another solution," I said with three pair of eyes watching me intently me, "Contact your daughter."

 

Everything was silent and the old pair's chins was shaking up and down as if they did not know what to say to that. Sayaka's high pitched voice suddenly entered our ears.

 

"We can't do that!"

 

"At least change the family altar," I said with an unwavering glance at them, "It would do her a good favour after all that has happened."

 

The pair turned bleak and Hirotaka seemed to struggle with a proper reply to my suggestion.

 

"What.. what are you implying?"

 

"I'm just saying this to save you from having the house collapse on you prematurely."

 

“Naru...”

 

The old couple just looked at each other in awe, and Mai seemed to want to say something badly, but I glared at her and then addressed the pair again.

 

"Well, there's no way you can keep everything nailed down in this house at the rate _it_ will go," I said and then to Mai, "Let's leave."

 

Mai seemed not entirely unwilling to go after this strange conversation and stood up along with me. She bowed one last time and left with me to the entranceway.

 

"Won't you have a drink?" Sayaka tried again and pointed at the cups of tea that were turning cold.

 

Both of us declined and the woman scowled. Mai suddenly touched my hand and looked very confused.

 

"Just go quickly, Mai. I'll say goodbye to them," I whispered to her.

 

“Is it okay to just leave like this?” she asked.

 

I nodded, handed her some bags and pushed her out. Once I had my own baggage, I had one last look at Hirotaka's reddening face coming closer. I was already outside, when he paced towards me with something shiny in his hand. Too slow. Far too slow.

 

I made sure that the dark smirk on my face was not lost on him, and before he could even reach the entranceway, I grabbed the door handle and pulled it back against the door frame.

 

_Click._

 

_Click._

 

I backed off and heard the dimwit pounding his fists noisily against the door. From the sounds of it he had no idea what just happened. Hirotaka appeared to have forgotten that he had attached the dusty locks near the door many years ago. Satisfied I quickly walked over to the car parked a bit further away down the road.

 

Mai was waiting for me next to the car with a deep frown.

 

"What's with the smug look on your face?" she asked.

 

I refrained from elaborating.

 

"Nothing."

 

Mai looked at me with suspicion as I threw my baggage in the back of the car.

 

“You will have to explain me why they're not coming out.”

 

"They're old, mad, dysfunctional and think I'm a prick," I said bluntly, stepping in the passenger's seat, “If you don't want to get infected, get in and drive us home.”

 

“Yes, boss. Whatever you say,” Mai said with a voice drenched in sarcasm. Similarly, she seemed rather disappointed with the way the case had turned out to be.

 

The car started and the navigation system turned on. Without Mai's knowledge I took one last glance at the Mizuguchi property. The door of the house slammed open and a knife-wielding Hirotaka appeared and made wild gestures with his arms. Sayaka followed soon after him at a frightening speed and wielded a walking stick. Mai never noticed this, because within moments she had left behind a trail of dust that covered our view of the house with the blue lights.

 

. . .

 

Several weeks later two small newspaper articles were filed into the Kamiyama Mariya folder.

 

The first one was about a house in a rural area that had collapsed on the night of Tuesday, the 14th of October. The bodies of an elderly couple had been recovered from their bedroom. The wing of the building they had slept in had collapsed, although it had recently been renovated.

 

The most recent article was a bigger news item that referred back to the collapsed house and the death of the elderly couple. It turned out there were no faults detected in the renovation of the left wing, but the wooden walls of the right wing had been severely affected by temperature changes. Furthermore the juicy headline said that more remains were found on the plot and is currently under investigation by the police. The article didn't say where the remains had been found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for sticking around!
> 
> Against my expectation, Blue Lights has become a case of three chapters. The original chapter was rather long, and was even bigger than the first two chapters together. Additionally, the second half had continued into a third person narrative and I don't like seeing POVs change within a chapter, so I decided to divide it. For the moment this will be the last chapter with Naru as the narrator of the story, and will continue in third person until he takes over again one day.


	4. Blue Lights (3)

**Saturday, 1st of November, 2008**

 

After departing from her home that was located in the Itabashi ward in Tokyo, the woman entered the subway station with only two tracks. She found the train that would take her to Shibuya already waiting next to the the first platform. Hastily she hopped in and fortunately could occupy a free seat by the door. Seconds later the train had embarked on its underground journey. The woman sighed of relief. She wouldn't know what to do if she had to stand the whole trip. Her feet were worn from standing and walking all day at her new job, and the recent funeral had taken a load of her emotional capacity. At least, it was over now. All she had to do was to apologise for the troubles she had caused and pay the due fees.

 

She was sunken deep in thought until a voice alerted her that she'd arrived at Shibuya Station. Time to walk again. The woman evaded the flurry of people in the station, passed the Hachiko statue and waited for the pedestrian light to go green at the famous Shibuya Crossing. Thankfully she had remembered where the office was located, unlike last time when she got lost on the way.

 

The sky became darker with the high rise buildings blocking the sun at the horizon, and the night-life of Shibuya started to brim with delight as the darkness drew near. It was a busy Saturday and the youth looked eager to have some fun. She stood in front of a modern high rise building for commercial and residential purposes. With a sigh she went to the entranceway where the sliding doors pulled open at her presence. By the elevator in the mostly deserted hallway she pressed the button, and the doors immediately slid open. It was as if the elevator had been waiting for her to come. Once inside she pressed the button just below the button of the top floor. The top floor seemed to have two half-floor penthouse apartments.

 

After waiting for what seemed to take ages, the doors slid open and she was immediately met by the sight of the translucent door glass with the logo written in Latin alphabet.

 

It said:

 

_SPR_

_Shibuya Psychic Research._

 

From what she could see in the hallway, several other companies were located on the same floor. SPR stuck out like a sore thumb, because these companies were considered to be normal. She also wondered whether the SPR was a lucrative business. Probably it made enough to keep its office on this floor of the building.

 

Remembering the CEO of the company, made her hesitate. Though he was handsome to the point that she almost confused him for being some famous actor, his personality seemed rigid and standoffish. He was exactly the type whose appearance did not match his character. Although he seemed to be around her age, he sounded accomplished enough for her to take him seriously. The female investigator seemed to belong in the same age bracket, but was much more warm and empathic. She looked like a normal office lady beside the CEO, but was certainly pretty compared to the average Japanese woman.

 

The woman softly pushed the door open and to her surprise was greeted by the sight of a black-haired boy sitting at the front office desk. He seemed to be around 17 years old and was currently focused on reading a small paperback book. On the desk was a closed laptop and a Nintendo DS console.

 

"Hello?" she said.

 

"Ah..."

 

The boy looked up and blinked with his brown eyes. Clearly he hadn't expected for someone to come in so late on a Saturday. He quickly placed a bookmark between the pages and rose from his chair.

 

"Welcome! Are you here for a consultation?" he said with a friendly expression. Up until then the boy had reminded her somewhat of that stoic CEO, but this person seemed much more livelier.

 

The woman shook her head.

 

"No, I'm here to make an apology. Can I talk to your superiors?"

 

He blinked again.

 

"What is your name?"

 

She paused before she spoke.

 

"My name is Mizuguchi Marina."

 

The boy looked slightly surprised, but nodded with a smile.

 

"I'll go get them."

 

He disappeared behind the translucent partition. Marina had not seen the boy before when she had visited here for the first time. With his blue jeans and converses, he dressed rather casually for an office job, even if he was a part-time worker. That reminded her, the female investigator seemed to know the CEO very well and didn't hold back from arguing with him in front of the client. The woman had been quite shocked at the sight. It wasn't very common to speak up against a superior where she had worked. Could this be a family business?

 

The boy had returned quickly.

 

"Please sit down over there. They'll be with you in a moment," he said.

 

"Thank you."

 

He led her to the sitting area behind the partition, where she sat down and nervously played with her fingers. Marina froze when the two investigators appeared around the corner. She bowed deeply at once.

 

"I'm very sorry for the trouble!" She apologised.

 

The three other people seemed to have been rendered speechless by her outburst. The other woman first the first to speak up.

 

"It's all right. We're not angry at you."

 

Marina finally looked up again.

 

"Really?"

 

She nodded. Her smile was just as warm as it had been on her first visit. It calmed her greatly. Marina had been afraid of any different reaction to her return to the office. They went to sit down in the seat opposite her. If she had remembered correctly, the female investigator called herself Taniyama. The man sitting next to her went by the easy to remember name Shibuya.

 

Shibuya looked at the part-time worker standing next to Marina. 

 

"Jun, get the Kamiyama Mariya file in the data room," Shibuya said with a monotonous voice.

 

"Of course," the boy said and disappeared behind the corner.

 

"Would you like some tea?" Taniyama asked.

 

"Yes, thank you," Marina replied and gave a light nod.

 

Taniyama went to the kitchen counter behind a wall and boiled the water.

 

In the meanwhile, Marina talked to Shibuya.

 

"Shibuya-san, about the costs... I'm fully prepared to pay for any trouble I've caused."

 

He gave her one long look. The blue eyes were slightly unsettling. He couldn't be fully Japanese, so she had been wondering the colour came from. 

 

He said, "I can't consider what you had done was right, but in this case I'm fine with whatever we agreed on when we made the contract."

 

"I see..." She sighed. That was one less thing to worry about.

 

Jun returned to give him the file and the man paged through it quickly, while Taniyama placed four cups of tea on the table.

 

"Jun, stay here," Shibuya said to his employee, "Even if it was a small part, you were involved, so you might as well." 

 

Marina was staring at the two and couldn't help comparing their appearances. She could have been wrong, but... no, they didn't act like it.

 

Sitting down, Taniyama said, "You can take care of the dish washing after this."

 

"Okay."

 

Jun sat down on the couch next to Marina. When all were seated, Shibuya placed the folder open on the coffee table

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

"I'm sorry for hiding it up till now, but as you may know, Kamiyama Mariya is an alias. My real name is Mizuguchi Marina," she said.

 

"...I see," Shibuya said, "The Mizuguchi's seemed to be confusing you with someone called Makiko, who came with her husband. You never told us about a husband that came with you to their house."

 

Marina nodded, "Makiko is my cousin and it's true that I came with someone, but he's not my husband. He is my half-brother Tsutsumi Nobuhiro."

 

"A half-brother..?" Taniyama said.

 

"My half-brother is from my father's earlier marriage. Ten years after their marriage my parents divorced and I came to live my mother," Marina smiled a little,"Though Nobuhiro is still very fond of me, so he was willing to help me. We pretended to be Kamiyama Makiko-san and her husband on our visit. However, they know that Tsutsumi is the name of my father... so we had to use an alias."

 

"But you used a different name on purpose when you met us..." she asked. She meant the name Mariya instead of Makiko.

 

"Well, we never intended to ask for your help before we went to them. Makiko doesn't know about contacting you. I knew there would be a possibility that you would try to contact the real Kamiyama Makiko, but it would only be all right if you were already there... that's what I thought," she said while inclining her head. "By the time you would find out, I wanted to make sure you had seen what I wanted you to see."

 

They stayed silent for a while, until the young part-time worker spoke up.

 

Jun said, "I had phoned Kamiyama-san, but she was neither close with your grandparents or knew of the existence of a Mariya... When I mentioned the name Emiko to her, she finally told me about you. That's where all the puzzle pieces fell into their place. The woman who called herself Kamiyama Mariya, and pretended to be Makiko, is actually the daughter of Mizuguchi Emiko."

 

Marina nodded. They had figured it out so easily.

 

"Were your grandparents aware of your existence?" Shibuya asked.

 

"My mother cut of all contact with them when she got married. That's all I know."

 

Then Shibuya took two newspaper articles from the folder, and handed it to Marina. She had seen those before.

 

"I assume this is related?" he said, while crossing his legs as he leaned back in his seat.

 

"Correct. After my grandparents died in the collapse of the house, they found the remains of a third person, which is to say, my mother's remains...” she told them, and then gave a sad smile, “I could finally give her a proper burial, but I still don't understand what exactly happened."

 

"When was the last time you saw your mother?" he asked.

 

"Ten years ago," she replied, "Mother was unemployed and we were in need of money. She left for a day trip to look for a job, but she never returned home. I reported her as missing, but there were no clues. I thought she had had abandoned me."

 

Shibuya nodded and looked pensive.

 

"So what made you change your mind?" Taniyama asked.

 

"When I remembered the story about my aunt Yumiko, about a year ago, I talked to my father and Nobuhiro about it and that's when I realized... my mother may not even be alive."

 

The man closed the folder, catching the full attention of those in the room. His blue eyes met hers and seemed to have comprehended the full situation by having listened to her side of the story.

 

"I see, I'll explain it to you."

 

They all looked at him.

 

"When Marina-san and Nobuhiro-san visited the house, the Mizuguchi's were fooled into thinking that they were the Kamiyama's. The two of you were eager to find out about what happened to their daughters, and it seemed that Hirotaka had become angered by what Nobuhiro-san said."

 

She nodded, wondering whether Hirotaka had said something about her brother.

 

"Yes, they said some awful things about my mother, and Nobuhiro had snapped."

 

"But you stayed the night anyway, because Hirotaka and Sayaka had become fond of you."

 

She nodded, "They told me I reminded them of aunt Yumiko."

 

Shibuya continued, "That night happened to be a Tuesday night. The two of you woke up somewhere past midnight and were alerted by the noises in the hallway. The entire wing seemed to rumble and then suddenly..."

 

Marina looked down and felt the tears coming. 

 

"That's when I heard her talking to me," she softly said. "I couldn't believe what was happening..."

 

"Mother, are you in here? Can you help me?" Shibuya quoted, "You're not mother, who are you?"

 

"She didn't remember me..! Even though I'm her child!" she cried out.

 

Taniyama walked over to Marina, placed a hand on her shoulder and comforted her.

 

"What happened next?" Jun asked Shibuya.

 

"An attack. To be exact, a light slash to the neck," he answered, "Though you had shown us the wound, it was in fact Nobuhiro-san who had received it."

 

Marina nodded.

 

"Makiko-san is a make-up artist for theatre and drama series... She helped me a lot."

 

It was silent again.

 

"...Marina-san had been protected by Yumiko-san," Taniyama said after a while.

 

"Huh?"

 

"Na... I mean, Shibuya-san got wounded instead of me, and I had felt her presence over me. She's a very pure spirit and is eager to protect. You could say she's a _zashiki-warashi_ , a household spirit."

 

Marina looked at Taniyama in amazement. Her smile was warm and she felt like she could easily open up to her.

 

"So that was my aunt, ...I felt it too."

 

"Unfortunately, her protection was fading... she could only protect one person from harm and her power to save the whole house from collapsing was not enough to prevent her younger sister's growing power," Shibuya continued, "From what I've observed, the house was at its limit and Emiko was finally able to completely destroy it."

 

"So that's what caused the house to collapse."

 

Jun had been reading the newspaper articles.

 

"Yes, they had been repeating the cycle every week on Tuesday for years without stopping, it's only natural that this would happen."

 

"Why on a Tuesday though?" he asked his boss.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

They all watched as Shibuya rose up from his seat and walked towards the large window near the kitchen at a slow place. The sky outside had darkened into a mix of deep red and blue colours. He peered at the neon lights below them, then closed his eyes. They waited for him to speak.

 

"Ten years ago, on a Tuesday night... someone broke into their house, because the person was in need of money and she knew exactly where the old couple had hidden their inheritance money. The treasure may not have been much, but it was something that would certainly help in those troubled times. So she opened the door that to her knowledge had always remained unlocked, and went to the living room. There she found the family altar with her older sister's photo, and remembering what she had done to her, she paid her respects. After that, she removed the table from the carpet, and then the carpet itself... When suddenly," he paused, "Someone had come up from behind her and hit her hard enough to make her bleed."

 

"Was it Hirotaka?" Jun asked.

 

"Yes, but I'm not sure whether they recognized each other in the dark," he said, "They probably struggled for a while, in the process hurting Hirotaka's eyelid. She got away, and out of panic and confusion she ran to her parents' bedroom, or, what she thought was her parents' bedroom."

 

He stopped right there and Marina's eyes widened.

 

"What... the bedrooms were switched?" she said.

 

"Emiko-san did not realize that her parents had moved into a different wing several years earlier," Shibuya said, and proceeded again, "When she arrived at the end of the hallway, Emiko-san was heavily bleeding and the blood was dripping on the floor. At this point she started to call for help from her mother, but when she opened the door she found someone else waiting there for her."

 

"Who was it?" Jun rose from his seat. The story had completely captivated him and he continually gazed at the back of the taller man.

 

"Yumiko," he replied, "Yumiko's spirit was still in that house. When her parents changed bedrooms, I suspect that she moved to the other one out of piety. On that night, Emiko-san saw the girl and could barely believe it. Perhaps she thought that her parents had taken in another girl, who looked eerily similar to Yumiko."

 

The three looked down for a moment. What could she have felt back then. Confusion, jealousy.... anger?

 

He continued, "In any case, she was still in a state of panic and tried to wound the girl. Of course, nothing helped."

 

"...what happened then?" Marina asked, holding a tissue in her hand.

 

"Hirotaka was wounded, but he was still conscious and went to the kitchen to weapon himself. In the meanwhile, Sayaka had seen their intruder leaving to the right wing and grabbed a walking stick. They followed the trail of blood, and were surprised to see that it didn't lead to the other exit to the garden, but to the spare bedroom. The intruder was still in the house. That's where they-"

 

"Enough," Marina suddenly said, with a pained voice, "I don't need to hear. I know what they did to her."

 

Shibuya stopped talking and opened his eyes to look back at the others. He was met by the sight of his employees surrounding Marina in worry. Her head hung low and she had begun trembling in her seat. 

 

This is where Emiko's walk of suffering had ended, and there was nothing more to say to that.

 

"The... the bones were found cut to.. pieces," she finally said, shocking both Jun and Taniyama. Hirotaka and Sayaka had gone as far as doing that. How could they have done such a thing to their own daughter?

 

With slow steps Shibuya returned to the sitting area.

 

"I'm sorry," he said, standing in front of her. It did not go unnoticed by Marina, that his voice sounded weary and heavy in her ears.

 

"No, it's fine..." she replied, wiping her tears, "Now I finally know that mother never intended to abandon me. I can live with that thought. I've been looking for mother for such a long time. I thought I would never find her. Thank you so much for everything."

 

Marina looked up, and through her tears she saw that Shibuya gave her a strangely sympathetic smile, before he picked up the file from the table and handed it to the young employee.

 

"Put this back," he said, recovering the stoic expression he had before, "You can go home after that."

 

"Yes."

 

Jun went to the data room and put the file back in a rather empty looking filing cabinet. This was the first case the SPR had been on after a long break, and he wondered how many more there were to come. So far he hadn't been asked to come with them, and he was awaiting the day it would happen. When he returned to the sitting area, he found his female superior volunteering to purify and bless the property with a priest she knew of. Marina accepted it gratefully. They went on to discuss some of the costs that were made.

 

Jun stared at the CEO. All this talk about the case reminded him that he had something to discuss with the other man. He had been postponing that discussion for a long time and neither seemed exactly enthusiastic about the idea, but it was something that concerned a fairly important matter.

 

Lost in his thoughts he went to the front desk to pick up his belongings to leave.

 

"Where are you going?" Taniyama suddenly asked with a deep frown.

 

"Going home?" he said. He had been told to leave after this.

 

"Don't forget to do the dishes."

 

She pointed at the coffee table with a friendly smile on her face. Oh right, he thought.

 

"...forgot about that."

 

He shot the other superior a brief glance and considered his puzzling behaviour. Was he trying to get him out of the office sooner? The distant between them was beginning to make him uneasy, but he could not blame the other for something that had happened in the past. Patience.

 

For the last time, Marina thanked them and apologized once again, before she left the office. He collected the cups and saucers from the coffee table and went to the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Before Marina visited, it had been a quiet Saturday afternoon with very little people coming in to ask for a consultation. An average amount of prank calls had been neatly deflected by the young part-time worker and he had to retrieve some foreign packages from the post office several floors below. There was also this insolent amount of paperwork that had to be filed after several days of not coming in.

 

Also, an enormous amount of cups had accumulated on just a single day. Both superiors were guilty of drinking gallons of tea and Jun couldn't understand their obsession about it. The female investigator called her self Taniyama Mai in the office, and the man with the chilly blue eyes went by the name Shibuya Kazuya. Neither of the family names were their true names. Mai thought it was bothersome by going by the name Shibuya, as there would be two Shibuya's in the office and it would confuse the visitors. There was no way she could let herself be called Mai-san out of professional reasons, so she kept using the name she was born with. On the other hand, 'Naru' could not use his real name, and had not much of choice other than putting up with the name Shibuya Kazuya. Jun had been surprised when hearing he had chosen the name Kazuya. It gave him a little hope.

 

Back to the topic of tea. On his first day of work he didn't consider himself a lover of tea or a tea addict. Tea was a drink his grandmother, uncle and older male cousin enjoyed, and he had always preferred coffee over the other. That changed when Mai taught him to drink other varieties of tea. She had bought several varieties that were not limited to just green tea or black tea, and that was when he'd gotten interested in trying them by savouring the taste or enjoying the scent. Mai was ecstatic with the addition of yet another lover of tea variations. She complained that Naru is the type who stuck to one territory and rarely veered off the road to the black tea haven. However, Jun liked to try out new things whether or not it was strange and unusual.

 

"So the mystery husband was actually her half-brother," Jun prompted when the other two gave him the other cups and saucers that were left behind in their own offices, "But why did she avoid taking him to the SPR?"

 

Naru leaned against the counter, "That old couple were probably fooled by Makiko's possible involvement in the make-up department, due to an aged eyesight." 

 

"...that makes sense, Nobuhiro and Marina probably looked related enough, even though they had different mothers," Jun said.

 

The man nodded.

 

"Yeah, but couldn't they have contacted the police instead?" Mai asked.

 

Naru shook his head, "They were unlucky, because they could not get a physical clue of her mother's disappearance. On the other hand, they never expected Emiko to appear as a ghost, that's when they knew for sure that she was killed and therefore contacted us."

 

"Right, the police wouldn't consider it proof..." she said, "There wasn't any clue to where they could find a body."

 

"Where did they find it?" Jun asked.

 

Naru looked at the ceiling. "What do you know about phosphorus compounds?"

 

"...I might have read it on wikipedia," the boy sullenly replied.

 

"Then I'll explain it to you, it's one of the fundamental basics of the paranormal," he said, and Mai broke into an involuntary grin, "In modern science it is generally accepted that Will o' the Wisps are caused by a glowing light produced by a phosphorus compound. This compound is produced by organic decay and causes photon emissions."

 

"That's what led to the appearance of the blue lights ten years ago," Mai added.

 

"So basically... they cut up their daughter into pieces and threw her down the toilet. That's brutal," Jun grimaced, "Why didn't you explain that part to Marina-san?"

 

She cleared her throat.

 

"No. There's no need for scientific theory when there's someone to mourn for," Mai said, giving her husband a pleasant smile, “Right, Naru?”

 

"You forbade him from telling her?" The boy stared at them, completely puzzled by the exchange.

 

The boss pushed himself away from the counter.

 

"It's not like she knew about those lights anyway," Naru said, while rolling his eyes, and walked out of the kitchen.

 

"Maybe he's actually being considerate," Jun said to Mai.

 

She dryly said, "Don't get your hopes up. I don't think you want to know what he does after you're dead."

 

"What?"

 

"He's lucky to have even more biological family walking on the planet. He must be thinking, oh the possibilities...!" Mai exclaimed, and pounding a fist in the air.

 

"..uh, what do you mean by that?" Jun said with a frown.

 

"Jun, stop listening to her and do the dishes," he heard Naru say from the other room.

 

Mai simply laughed, wiped the washed cups and saucers dry and placed them back in the cabinet.

 

"So how do you like working here?" she said after a moment.

 

Jun had only been working here for a month, and only on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On other days he went to the university, hung out with friends and practised aikido. This part-time job was offered by Mai, because they had been looking for someone who wasn't mostly sceptical about the paranormal.

 

"I like it, but it's..."

 

"It's what...?"

 

"I expected something more exciting," he bluntly said and placed the remaining wiped cups in the cabinet.

 

"Aha! So you were expecting to encounter ghosts every day?" Mai slyly said.

 

"It's not that. I just wanted to join you guys on a case and see what's it like."

 

Mai sighed, "Well, there aren't many options. I wish I could accept most of the clients who come in, but Naru doesn't share the same opinion."

 

Jun shrugged, "I can't blame him. Most of them don't even seem serious."

 

"You think so too?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Not always!" She started to ramble, "Well, except when in the old building, girls came like every day. Naru was really popular in the café downstairs, and obviously they always came up to-"

 

"Jun, you can go home now."

 

Naru had shown up in the kitchen again, and didn't look very pleased. Mai pouted.

 

"Okay."

 

The boy left the kitchen to pick up his DS console and his book, then threw those in a shoulder bag. He said goodbye, closed the door and pushed the button of the elevator. He waited.

 

Behind him Naru and Mai suddenly appeared after a short while, wearing their coats.

 

"Oh, you're still there," she said.

 

Jun pointed at the elevator, and she knowingly nodded. That damn thing took too long to come back up. The trio waited in front of it.

 

"Do you guys ever eat at home? I mean, I noticed you always stay in the office late or go out to eat..." he said as a conversation starter.

 

Silence.

 

Unwittingly neither of them had replied.

 

Jun started to look a little smug and Mai panicked. If the boy found out, it was all over for them. Naru coughed as he entered the elevator that had opened right that moment.

 

"We do," he finally said to save his pride, pushing the button when they were inside.

 

The doors closed. A soft piano piece was playing on the background.

 

"Yes," she firmly nodded, and added, "It's just that.. we don't go out that much to do the groceries."

 

"Ah, that's right... you live right above the office, and because you're workaholics you don't even find reason or time to do groceries or make food, huh..." Jun said, "How inconvenient."

 

Naru said nothing at all, folded his arms and boringly stared at the numbers lighting up on the pane next to the doors. Jun watched Mai fixing her hair and her make-up in the mirror, even though there was nothing much to fix about. The elevator music changed into a cheery piano music that obviously did not fit the awkward atmosphere, and Jun wanted to escape the elevator as soon as possible. Why did they have to live on the top floor of all things? He reached for his cell phone and played a sudoku game. Recently he would try to solve them before reaching the first floor. Jun wasn't good with numbers, so he usually failed.

 

When the doors finally slid open on the first floor, the three stumbled out and headed for the exit.

 

"What time do I need to come in on Tuesday?" Jun asked, when they were outside.

 

"Same as usual if there's no case," Naru replied.

 

"Are you going home? The restaurant is near the station, we can walk together," Mai said.

 

"Ah, I'm meeting up with some friends tonight for a film," Jun said, pointed into another direction, "I'm heading that way."

 

"Oh that's great. Have fun with your friends!" Mai said, "See you on Tuesday!"

 

"Have a good night," he said.

 

Naru gave a slight nod to him and walked away with Mai. He stared after them for a moment. They looked like any other normal couple with neon lights above them of many colours that were not due to fade any time soon. 

 

"A half-brother, huh..."

 

He sighed and pulled his cell from his pocket again. An university friend had sent him a message with the question of whether they should do a sneak preview or go see some random horror flick.

 

Let's go with that random horror flick, he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Blue Lights case is over. I hope you liked it and that it has answered most of your answers. If not, I'll be happy to answer them in the next chapter. The next chapter could be called a breather episode. It's almost Christmas time, the location is a pub and they're in the company of two old friends.
> 
> Although this is a story collection, there is an underlying plot that will mostly involve Jun. He will pop up every now and then. I also figured that with only Mai and Naru around, the SPR is in need of a part-time worker.


End file.
